A soldier and her Kevlar helmet

When I was in the Army, I wore a helmet that was made of Kelvar. We called it a Kevlar, rather than a helmet. Like any piece of a soldier’s uniform, it took on a second life, and there were some tall tales …

Rumors were sometimes passed down the convey lines during Desert Storm. One of the soldiers was said to come from a convoy, removed his Kevlar and discovered a bullet hole in it. Doubtful if it was true—if it was hard enough to lodge in the Kevlar, he would have felt the impact.

Another story that circulated—much to the chagrin of the woman soldier who was in my unit—was that she had mixed up her Kevlar with a four star general’s, so she was wearing his. It was not true. Trust me, she would have noticed. Just soldier boredom.

But an interesting fact is that the material used for our Kevlar helmets, and in the flak vests was invented by a woman, Stephanie Kwolek.